Journal / Summary:C-1-2002-Summary

Final Trench Summary, Year 2002 Season

Area C

Trench 1

August 8, 2002

1 Introduction

Trench C1 is located on the western side of Kenan Tepe and is the northwestern most trench of area C. It is a 5 x 5 meter trench and is directly to the west of C4. C3 and C2 are across the entrance road to the south of C1. This season I picked up where Pete left off after the 2001 season. At its highest point at the beginning of the season, C1 was at 595.80cm, 595.28cm at its midpoint and 595.10cm at its deepest. At the end of this season, the trench is at 595.14 at its highest point, 594.95 at its midpoint, and 594.62 at its lowest.

My main goal at the beginning of the season was to decipher the loci left from last season. Some things described as rock gardens were found to be walls and cobble surfaces this year. As the season progressed my goals changed to delineating the mudbrick surfaces and attempting to interpret inside versus outside work areas and surfaces. As I excavated, new kinds of pottery (for my trench at least) arose and it seems that rather than being smack in the middle of the second millennium, I might be delving into the third. I believe that I definitely achieved the fours goal and am still working towards the second, but look forward to pursuing this more next season. Enshahallah.

2 Trench Information

2.1 Loci Overview

This year’s excavation began with the usual cleaning loci. L1067 was the initial baulk cleaning and L1070 was for the base of the trench. Other arbitrary cleaning loci for fill were 1076, 1082, 1085, and then later 1094, 1095, 1096, and 1099 were all used to clean away fill that had no other distinctions. Other smaller baulk cleaning loci were carried out throughout the season if it seemed that some stones or artifacts were threatening to fall or if the baulk was not as straight as could be desired. L1072 was an example of this on the south baulk of concentrated cobbles and pottery extending from the baulk. L1079 was a similar locus on the north baulk, with 1080 on the west.

The first loci to be dealt with in serious attention were 1069, 1077, 1075, and 1081 comprising the stone architectural features along the east baulk. Beginning from the north, L1081 was a single course cobble surface of mainly squarish cobbles carefully laid and secured. This was bonded with 1075 which is mainly delineated by two large white flagstones anomalous to the surrounding architecture. Between these tones was a great deal of flat lying pottery with a large piece of greenish slag in the center. There was also a tin layer of small pebbles spread on top of the pottery.

This continued south to L1069, the five course wall (L1077 actually comes first but 1069 was put down first). This wall was built upon a mudbrick foundation/wall L1083. Its first course was made of roughly oblong stones placed at a 45 degree angle into the baulk. The second course was of smaller cobbles with a good deal of pebbles in the mortar matrix. The third to fifth courses continued in increasingly larger stones to the boulders at the bottom. More information on these courses appears in the daily journals. L1077 seemed to be a large pile of stones on the northern part of 1069 possibly joining with 1075. There were no discrete courses or rows visible in this locus.

In association with L1069, though not close to it, are loci 1071 and 1073. L1071 was described last season as an artifact scatter, but appeared to be more likely some sort of fill or foundation as I excavated since it kept to a long and regular rectangular border. A good deal of pottery and lithics were dumped into this fill. Associated with this locus in the north baulk was L1073 which was a good deal of cobbles and pottery arranged in a similar construction as L1069. Further linking the two features was a broken stone bowl, half of which was found used as a cobble in 1069 (KT1069.12) and the other half in 1073 (KT1073.7).

Directly to the west of the two flagstones of 1075 (and partially beneath them) was L1074 fire installation. This was made up of burnt earth, ash, and a great deal of pottery as a lining for the pit, including a possible early bronze age pedestal base. This locus seemed to end at a harder and more compact layer, but when that was removed by cleaning locus 1085, more ahs was uncovered and eventually L1097 was created for this ashy layer with three medium sized fire affected rocks directly in front of L1098, a possible oven base. These are actually at the same stratigraphic level as 1092, 1093, 1094, and 1087, but because of their continuance in the same area of possible cooking, I included them here. L1098 is a mudbricky platform that might have been an oven base, which was cleaned out into L1097. This locus is also beneath L1075.

On the same stratigraphic level as the stone wall was L1068 ash pit. This was a very compact ashy pit that continued down about 5-7cm. Below this compact layer was L1084, a very loose and dark ash pit. There were few artifacts found here ,but a great deal of ash. This locus continues under which the next main stratigraphic layer begins.

The next and main stratigraphic level of interest began below L1068 and 1084. L1092 is a low wall, possibly used as a windbreak, composed of two courses of stones each laid on a layer of large pot shards. It runs parallel to the north baulk and is partially encompassed by it. An east-west arm joins on the west side and protrudes out about 75cm. L1093 and 1094 were used to excavate around 1092. L1094 went to the west of 1092 and then wrapped around to the east around 1093. L1093 was within the confines of 1092 and was delineated by a clear line in the trench base. A good deal of pottery was removed from this area as well as carbon.

Directly to the south of this in 1094 a large in situ pot smash was uncovered. At least two vessels could be reconstructed from this locus (KT1094.12 and .13). Some of this pot smash was laying against the mudbrick wall 1089. Continuing south brings us to the north part of 1087. This locus continues in two parts, this northern .75 x .75m section and a larger mirror image to the southeast that is 1 x 2m in size. This is an interesting locus of uncertain depth yet, but based on a cross-section cut in pit 1100, it appears to continue down at least one more course, with the curses divided by a 1/5cm gray line with a fingernail thin plaster layer above and below. The two parts of the feature meet a mirror image point of a double course of gray bricks. The remaining bricks are of the regular beigish color. One unusual aspect of this feature is the size of the bricks, very narrow running about 10 x 35cm each. The south portion seems to arch slightly towards the west.

There was a line in the trench base connecting the south side of 1097 and 1098 with the north side of southern 1087 and the southern side of northern 1087 then ending at 1089. 1097 and 1098 are at the same stratigraphic level as 1089, 1092, and 1093. Also divided by this line is 1083, the mudbrick platform under 1069. This platform is continuing down and runs parallel to 1087. The individual bricks of 1083 are no longer distinct as they were about 10cm higher, but there is a distinct line with the outer 15-20cm separated from the interior of the surface.

All of this is bordered on the west by 1089, the mudbrick wall under 1071. This feature is continuing to the west and will be discussed in more detail with that half of the trench.

Moving along the southern part of the trench are two (and possibly three) rounded rectangular features of uncertain purpose, L1086 and 1088. The third may have been cut by pit 1100 which also cut 1087. These features are capped with mudbrick over a layer of compact dirt and followed by more mudbrick. Each layer of mudbrick seems to be divided into two bricks, one to the north and one to the south.

Finally to the western half of the trench, which is still a good 20-30cm below the eastern section. The main division as mentioned before between the east and western sections is the mudbrick wall 1089. This wall continues down in the west and there is a parallel mudbrick surface/feature approximately .75m to the west, L1101. Between these two loci, L1096 was removed to expose and articulate the sides of 1089 and 1101, but also ended up exposing another mudbrick surface below the fill. A good amount of broken flat lying pottery was found in the removal of this locus. L1101 has not been investigated to a great extent at this time since it was only in the last week of excavation that pit 1092 (just to the east of the unexcavated stair) was removed to show a nice cross-section of mudbrick from 1101 continuing parallel to 1089 and under the stair.

The main area that has not been explored in the eastern half of the trench is the southwestern corner. This was 1078 and had been left as an island of itself about 15-20cm above the rest of the trench after last season. When removing this locus, pit 1090 was uncovered. This pit was only partially excavated since it had been dug out previously without being found. This was a shallow ash pit lined with some sort of smooth and thin mudbricky surface. Below this pit 1090 and 1098 also continues there.

2.2 Method

The tools used to excavate this trench were mainly small picks, trowels, and brushes. Screens were used when it seemed that artifacts could be recovered like with the cylinder seal which half was recovered by screening. When dealing with mudbrick ,which was often this season, the workers would approach the mudbrick with small picks and then finish articulating them with trowels.

2.3 This season I only drew the eastern baulk. A great deal was going on in this baulk from previous excavation that I have not tried to interpret at this point. The north and south baulks have been very useful in attempting to interpret walls and other features excavated last season. The western baulk need to be cleaned back again as little is clear at this time.

3. Interpretation

The interpretation of C1 is still under progress but at this time it seems that there might be three separate areas of use, the western section with the walls is the most uncertain one, and then the possibility of the eastern section being divided into north and south, outside and inside.

The western side at this time appears to be an outside area, possibly the outside of a building or house with the possibility of one or two cooking areas. The mudbrick surface under 1096 and abutting 1089 ma be the base of this work area or passage.

The eastern half of the trench may be a second living area with the north as an outside area and the south as inside. The northern section is composed of the windbreak 1092 and possible pit/work area 1093. This is also associated with the ash pit and possible oven of 1097 and 1098. 1087 could possibly have been some sort of pavement from outside to inside. The outside area also had a great deal of carbon and animal bone. The southern section is hypothesized as an inside area. This consists mainly of the larger 1087 pavement, pit 1100, and the unusual features/pits of 1086 and 1087. Again the main division of the trench are wall 1089 dividing east and west and the line at trench base dividing north and south.

How C1 relates to the others in area C is as of yet uncertain other than that it is of an earlier date than the others since it is substantially lower (though Jakob’s trench is getting close). The current elevation seems to be just entering the third millennium. Perhaps as the other trenches get deeper, the relationships will become more clear. AS for the rest of the site, it also seems that a great deal of third millennium evidence is being uncovered, so this might be able to link nicely with some of what is being excavated in other areas such as A and D.

4. Loose Ends and Advise

As for loose ends of warning for next season’s excavation, I can only sum it up as everything is coming up mudbrick. Almost everything exposed at this point has mudbrick below it. After initial cleaning, I would recommend a liberal brushing with the whisk broom to look for the mortar lines. After an extra year to dry out, the lines may become more pronounced. The pits 1091 and 1100 both exposed more mudbrick, so cleaning one of those cross-sections could also elucidate more of what is happening in C1. also, when exposing 1092 some of the top course of stones on pottery are loose and could come off easily. It has been extensively photographed this season, so should be ready for removal soon in the 2003 season. Other than that, good luck. It is a great trench and has been very interesting to work in.